2008 VIP
kid-kansas
Vincennes, IN
If you have money to throw away then get one!!
1 star rating

a homeowner, Cost conscious
Pros

    vaccum, shampooer, wet vac, bagless, works on any surface, even cleans water

Cons
    expensive, Warranty is a big JOKE, Made of about 70% plastic, Not durable at all

APR
3
2008

Rainbow E Series Vacuum — 

Once upon a time I let a woman talk me into buying one of these modern marvels. She of course bought the whole enchilada with all the attachments and fragrances they had to offer. In the end it cost me just over $1800 for this so called wonderful and healthy vacuum.

Rainbow Vacuum

It comes with all the bells and whistles you can think of and believe me you pay for them through the nose. We had the carpet cleaning attachment to hook to a water source, the power head and all the different attachments to clean your floors, upholstery and stairs. It worked great for 5 years and did a wonderful job at cleaning. With 2 kids in the house it was a great feeling knowing the floors were clean and germ free.

Then the handle cracked up near the top and I tried to get it fixed. Hey it had a lifetime warranty so I was not going to be out anything. Well after finally getting in touch with a rep from the company they sent someone over to look at it. I was told it broke from abuse and it would not be covered!!! Well Kiss my Grits!! The dang thing broke from normal use as we both took very good care of it, after all it cost more than my car did at the time. Anyway that cost me $75 to get fixed so there was lesson #1.

The next thing to give up the ghost was the little tray the unit sits in, the ring with the coasters on it. Yup you guessed it it broke because of abuse and would not be covered. Now I was about as happy as a cow after getting stuck with a Hot branding iron!!! Well to hell with paying for a new one, so I super glued the thing and kept on truckin!

Next the switch gave out and I won't say it...you already know ......Yup we abused the switch so we had to buy a new one for it. Okay this switch is not only hard to get too, but just as hard to get out. I was also told if I replaced it the warranty would be null and void. So I asked how much for them to replace it and this Redneck about went through the roof...Can you say $125 for a 2 wire metal and plastic switch that you could hide in your hand and steal without any problem!!!!!!

Considering the last 2 things that went wrong were not covered because they claimed abuse I said the hell with it and just bought the switch and replaced it myself. It cost me $15 for just the little switch and took me 3 hours to replace it!

Then a year later the motor burned up and I was on my last straw by then. I took it to a dealer who worked on them and was told the motor would cost me $400 and would take 2 weeks to get and put it in. I was in no mood to even talk to this guy and saw his sign that he bought used Rainbow's.

So I inquired as to what he would give me for it. He hemmed and hawed for a few minutes and then made me an offer of $350 if I would bring in all the attachments for it. You better believe I made tracks home and got all the stuff that went with it. I dang near got a speeding ticket because I was afraid he would change his mind on me!

I took my money and almost felt guilty for it...I said ALMOST! I went out and bought another vacuum but you can believe it was not more than $100 because I was through with fancy vacuums and wasn't going to get another expensive boat anchor ever again.

Bottom Line

Yeah it cleans good and is quiet considering the power it has. Was it worth the money I paid for it? Hell no it wasn't and anybody that buys one better have money to throw away because they will scream abuse whenever you try to make good on the warranty for the thing. That $1800 investment was junk in 5 years and I don't consider $360 a year for a vacuum as being a good deal! It was one headache after another and I am glad to be rid of it.

If you have the money to throw away on one of these things....Call me I will come vacuum your floors once a week and you can pay me instead! I will even sprinkle sweet smelling stuff on your floors for you so you can have something to remember me by!



I_thumb_down Rainbow E Series Vacuum is not recommended by kid-kansas

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I_comment_shdw24 Comments about kid-kansas’s Review

 


kid-kansas wrote on Oct 14, 2008 at 10:34PM

In response to hmmingbrd612's comment from Oct 13, 2008 at 1:34AM:

Sorry for your troubles....that's why I washed my hands of their crap.....

hmmingbrd612 wrote on Oct 13, 2008 at 1:34AM

I agree about them not wanting to validate the warrenty. We recently had a problem with the motor- My husband had to finally tell them we were going to go to the Better Business Bureau and had to call about 6 people before we were able to get the motor replaced (has an 8 yr warrenty- this is only yr 5!) It also took 7 weeks to get the vacuum back, we had to mail!!! it to a repairman (6 hr drive away) as there is no one closer to do VALID warrenty repair work. When we tried to contact the orginal company that sold it to us- they no longer sell them!!!! as they too were having problems with warrenty work.

kid-kansas wrote on Apr 6, 2008 at 12:40AM

In response to jazzybean01's comment from Apr 5, 2008 at 5:37PM:

You're very welcome! Good luck on your search! ;)

jazzybean01 wrote on Apr 5, 2008 at 5:37PM

I will soon be looking for a new vacuum. Thanks for the review.

kid-kansas wrote on Apr 4, 2008 at 9:15PM

In response to AmyA's comment from Apr 4, 2008 at 8:27PM:

Lazy vacuum.....lol

AmyA wrote on Apr 4, 2008 at 8:27PM

My sister in law is working on me to buy a rebuilt Kirby...I like my vacuum I have now (Dirt Devil for pets), but it is now starting to stop when it thinks it's tired. I let it rest and start it up again. lol

kid-kansas wrote on Apr 4, 2008 at 10:12AM

In response to AnnaBanana's comment from Apr 4, 2008 at 8:34AM:

LMAO.....Glad I could make your day so well......Yeah at the time I had a 69' Dodge Dart, too think of the paint job I could have gotten with the money or savings account....but you know that woman is an ex...and you know why they call them ex's...lol ;)

AnnaBanana wrote on Apr 4, 2008 at 8:34AM

I've got to say that I enjoyed this review. I can consider myself warned about Rainbow vacuums plus I laughed so hard I nearly fell off my chair! I hate to tell you how much interest you could have earned on that $1,800 in an ING savings account. I think we have all learned the hard way about things but I'm telling you, your story would have made a great sitcom episode -- namely, "OVER THE RAINBOW"!

kid-kansas wrote on Apr 3, 2008 at 11:42PM

In response to MikeMaroon's comment from Apr 3, 2008 at 7:49PM:

Thanks Mike, hard to say I had always heard good things about Rainbow but you live and learn I guess! ;)

MikeMaroon wrote on Apr 3, 2008 at 7:49PM

I used to sell Kirbys. They supposedly had a lifetime warranty except for the belt. Wonder if their customers got the same run around. Hoovers are cheaper and work just as well! Good job!

kid-kansas wrote on Apr 3, 2008 at 4:37PM

In response to bkovacs's comment from Apr 3, 2008 at 2:44PM:

yep expensive does not mean squat sometimes. ;)

bkovacs wrote on Apr 3, 2008 at 2:44PM

Funny! It's good to hear that expensive products can be just as crappy as the cheap stuff. We have a Sears Kenmore canister-style vacuum cleaner that we got at least 15 years ago. While it hasn't been trouble free and needs occasional simple maintenance, it still works fine... and it cost only $170 or so.

--Bob

1 star rating
"This was one of my biggest mistakes"
More Rainbow E Series Vacuum reviews
5 star rating
"Spectacular vacuum! Great cleaning and dust removal!"



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